While, I suspect, most of us were still sleeping, Pete Givan and Adele O’Dowd were out in Norwood Park leading a bird walk to do a New Year’s Day count and introducing participants to the trees in the Park.
Our stream monitoring team was thrilled to find a two-lined salamander at their spring monitoring session, April 21! This little salamander lays her eggs in the creek on the rocks and pebbles. While they are native to the area, we don’t see many in the creek because their habitat is frequently buried in the silt caused by eroding banks.
It’s spring in the Green Acres Restoration Project and we are happy to report that the Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) we planted last fall are up and starting to bloom and more were planted just last week. Virginia bluebells are native to the eastern part of North America and occur in riparian forests, which are wooded areas growing on river and lake banks or in wetland areas. The blue flowers in the spring make a stunning display and when they spread, carpet the area in blue.
Jane Padelford Gomes was recognized for her tremendous contribution to the watershed, the Green Acres Habitat Restoration. This project, started by Jane in 2016, has transformed the muddy, invasive overgrown “paper road” between Wakefield and Yorktown Roads in Bethesda into a haven of native plants alive with song birds, butterflies, bees and other native insects.